The China-ASEAN Forum on New Technologies of Modern Agriculture was held on Oct 29 in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province.

The forum is an effort by China and ASEAN member states to cooperate on food security, safeguard people's well-being, strengthen international technological cooperation, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of regional agriculture.

Alexander Lim, head of the science and technology division of the ASEAN secretariat, said the agriculture sector remains an important economic contributor to nearly all ASEAN economies, in terms of its role in providing employment and its contribution to GDP.

Except for Singapore, the agriculture sector accounts for the highest employment percentage in ASEAN. The focus of the science and technology utilization programme in all ASEAN member states is to support basic needs in agriculture and rural development, he said.

Since the ASEAN-China dialogue started in 1991, cooperation has expanded to more than 20 areas, and agriculture is one of its 11 priorities.